Staten Island Rapid Transit (mtamaster edition)
The Staten Island Rapid Transit is a company in the New York City borough of Staten Island that operates Subway and Railroad service in that borough. Service is provided 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Operated by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a unit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the system is considered a standard railroad line, but only freight service which runs along the western portion of the North Shore Branch is connected to the national railway system. SIRT operates with modified R44 New York City Subway cars, as well as the R55 and R83 cars, and is run by the New York City Transit Authority, an agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and operator of the New York City Subway. Although there is no direct rail link between the SIR and the MTA NYC subway system, there is a free in system transfer between the Purple Line and the R line. The system is included on official New York City Subway maps. Some commuters who use the Red, Blue and Brown lines may also use the Staten Island Ferry to reach Manhattan and get a free transfer between Saint George and either Bowling Green or South Ferry; the lines are accessible from within the Ferry Terminal and most NYC Subway lines connect to the ferry. Services All lines provides full-time local service in Staten Island: *The Blue Line is the first line to operate under SIRT. The route runs between Saint George and Tottenville along the east side of the borough and operates for 14 miles. This is the only line not to operate underground, although it runs in a tunnel between the St George terminal and Tompkinsville. This line is also one of the two lines originally operated by B&ORR (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad). This line, however, is the only line that survived after MTA takeover, making it the oldest line in operation. *The Red Line runs between Saint George and Staten Island Mall, serving the western and northern shore. The part of the line that operates in a subway matter originally operated by B&ORR. The line closed on March 31, 1955 due to low ridership, but reopened on February 28, 1973 following delivery of new R44 cars from the MTA and completion of the new subway portion of the line. The line between Port Richmond and New Brighton as well as between Travis and Staten Island Mall are operated underground. *The Green Line operates between Port Richmond and Bayview Avenue on the west side of Staten Island. The line runs underground for the entire line. The line operates under Port Richmond Av between Port Richmond and Westerleigh, under Richmond Av between Graniteville and Staten Island Mall, under the KWV Parkway between Wegener Park and Huguenot, and under the Blue line until it's terminal at Bayview Av. This is one of the three north-south lines to open on September 13, 1981. *The Yellow Line runs between Port Richmond and South Beach along northeast Staten Island. Like the Green line, it is a subway for the Entire route. The line operates under Clove Road for the entire route except at its terminals and at Concord. This is one of the three north-south lines to open on September 13, 1981. * The Orange Line operates between Port Richmond and Oakwood Beach. The line is both a subway and an opencut line. South of Emerson Hill is when the open cut begins. This is the only line to have an outdoors section made entirely from scratch. This is one of the three north-south lines to open on September 13, 1981. *The Purple Line runs between Port Ivory and Bay Ridge- 95 Street, Brooklyn, and goes through mid-Staten Island. It operates under the Clove Lakes Parkway, Victory Boulevard, and Watchogue Road. The line is a subway except at at Port Ivory. This line is the only line to operate outside of Staten Island and connect with the New York City Subway. The line opened with the Brown Line on August 25, 1991. *The Brown Line operates between Saint George and Tottenville through mid-Staten Island and the South Shore. The Brown Line only goes outdoors in the terminals. Between the Terminals, the line operates under Victory Boulevard and the Pearl Harbor Expressway, but the line also does not operate under any street, most notably between Tottenville and Sharrots Road and between Ardent Heights and Clove Lake. The line opened with the Purple Line on August 25, 1991. Lines have a route bullet similar to other subway routes and show their respective colors on a circle and show their terminal in the bullet. Lines run 24 hours a day and is one of only six mass-transit rail lines in the United States to do so (the others being the PATCO Speedline, the Red and Blue Lines of the Chicago 'L', the Green Line of the Minneapolis-St. Paul METRO, the PATH lines, and the New York City Subway). On weekdays, express service to St. George is provided on the blue line between 6:17 AM and 8:17 AM and to Tottenville from 7:06 AM to 8:06 AM and 4:31 PM to 7:51 PM. Morning express trains run non-stop between St. George and New Dorp; afternoon express trains run non-stop from St. George to Great Kills southbound only. Express service is noted on trains by the presence of 'express' directly underneath it.